
0m^ t 




Class L 3 <\ 
Book LJ R \ (q 



HUGH SWINTON LEG ARE 



By B. J. RAMAGE 



[Reprinted from "T/ie Sewanee Review" January-April, 1902.] 






HUGH SWINTON LEGARE. 






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/«r»on). 

■ Je'02 



HUGH SWINTON LEGARE.' 
I. 

Legare's Youth. 

The career of Hugh Swinton Legare was that of a 
scholar in politics. It is scarcely too much to say that of 
the Southern statesmen of the old regime he was not only 
the most gifted but by all odds the best acquainted with the 
various arts that go to make up a well-informed man of the 
world. As lawyer, orator, author, statesman, diplomatist, 
and cabinet officer — for he was all these in the brief life 
vouchsafed him — we shall find him always exhibiting the 
same devotion to high ideals, the same independence of 
judgment and of action that formed one of the leading 
traits of his character and won for him the confidence and 
esteem even of those who mi<*;ht have differed from him 
in politics. These moral qualities he acquired partly 
through inheritance, partly by reason of the circumstances 
surrounding his early life. 

Of Scottish extraction on his mother's side, he gained from 
his father a Huguenot name as well as man)' of the character- 
istics of that sect. Born at Charleston, S. C, January 2, 1797, 
Legare was a great-great-grandson of Solomon Legare, a 
French Huguenot, who emigrated to America when about 
twenty years of age on account of the religious controversies 
that shook his native land throughout the greater part of the 
seventeenth century. 2 According to family tradition, the fa- 
ther of the Huguenot was a Roman Catholic of liberal tenden- 
cies whose home was on the Loire, not far from the town of Ly- 
ons. With him lived his wife and four sons, all of whom, save 

'The author begs to express his grateful appreciation to Rev. Shirlej 
Hughson, of Westminster, Md., Mr. Yates Snowden, of Charleston, S. C, 
and Jamee M. Barnard, Esq., of Boston, for the generous aid extended 
him in the preparation of this sketch. 

'The French Protestants were first called Huguenots in 1560. The 
word has been variously explained, but is doubtless to be traced to some ob- 
scure local source. — BatrtTs "Jiise of Huguenots? Vol. /., //. 397, 3q8. 



4 Hugh Sainton Legare. 

Solomon, the youngest, were his children by a former mar- 
riage; but, while the three older boys adhered to the ortho- 
dox faith, Solomon, like his mother, became a Protestant, 
or "Bible Christian," as the French of that day put it, and, 
when attending college at Lyons, was obliged to flee the 
country. This was shortly before Louis XIV. at Fontaine- 
bleau, on October 17, 1685, had revoked the edict of Nantes, 
and thus ended the long struggle for religious toleration in 
France. Arriving at Bristol, England, the young refugee 
won the heart of an English girl of rare piety, to whom he 
was shortly afterwards married. 3 His father having died in 
the meantime, his mother left France, and after numerous 
exciting experiences joined the young couple by appoint- 
ment in Bristol. Madame Legare had for months been pre- 
paring for her flight. Her husband not only aided her in this 
work, but also arranged to send his older sons to Quebec. * 

It was while the Legares were thus sojourning in England 
that numerous bands of their sect were be<rinnin<r to settle on 
the southern coast of the then recently established province of 
Carolina. This name had for upwards of a century been a very 
dear one to their co-religionists on account of the ill-starred 
colonial experiments of Colignv. Ribault, and other French 
dissenters. Accordingly, the Legares naturally thought of 
that New France the Southern Pilgrims were striving to erect 
on the same foundations a New England had already been 
reared by Pilgrims of quite another stock, and in about the 
year 1686 we find the family already settled in the six-vear- 
old village of Charles Town. There, with the capital supplied 
by his mother, Solomon Legare*, by patient industry, built 
up a fortune.' 

So little has been written of the 1 luguenots that one would 
fain linger over the many beautiful incidents connected with 
their immigration to America. That they have enriched 

'"Biographical Sketches of the Huguenot Solomon Legare 1 ami of His 
Family." Bj one of his great-great-granddaughters, Mi>. Eliza C. K 
Fludd. P. 19. Charleston. 1886. 

'Miinv descendants <>f these '•till reside in Canada. Ibid., pp. 23, J4. 

4 LegaiV Street In Charleston is named for one of his descendants. 



Hugh Swinton Lcgare. $ 

our national life in a manner far out of proportion to their 
numbers is a fact that will scarcely be questioned." Retain- 
ing in South Carolina for some years their language and 
customs, it took them a long time to overcome the preju- 
dices of their English associates; but eventually all traces 
of antipathy disappeared, and the two nationalities got on 
well together. This disappearance of all traces of ancient 
strife was no doubt hastened in large measure by the revo- 
lutionary war. 

On the outbreak of that struggle many of the descendants 
of the Huguenot Legare cast in their lot with that of the 
colonists. Indeed, it has been computed that from first to 
last, and including three sons, eight grandsons, three great- 
grandsons, and numerous other members of his family, as 
many as thirty-two of his descendants were in the American 
army. 7 Of these, several were officers. Thomas Legare, 
grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was among this 
number. A loyal upholder of the patriotic side in that con- 
flict, he suffered unusual hardship; but whether as member 
of the revolutionary army or as delegate to the State Assem- 
blv, he never wavered in his devotion to the cause of inde- 
pendence. Both he and his wife lived for many years after 
the close of the war. Of four children, two were sons, 
Thomas and Solomon. It was the latter who was the father 
of Hugh Swinton Legare. Marrying Mary Swinton, de- 
scendant of a Scotch surveyor-general the British govern- 
ment had sent out to South Carolina in the early part of the 
eighteenth century, Solomon Legare died of a lingering 
attack of fever shortly after the birth of Hugh, leaving to 
the care of his voung widow the infant son and two little 
daughters.* Of Solomon Legare, little seems to be known 
beyond the fact that his parents were devoted to him. In- 
deed, it is said that his untimely end so preyed upon the 

6 Three of the descendants of the Huguenots were Presidents of the 
Continental Congress — namely, Laurens, Jay, and Boudinot. — Ramsay's 
"South Carolina;' Vol. /., /. 8. 

7 Mrs. Fludd.p. 78. 

8 Afterwards Mrs. Bryan and Mrs. Bullen. The latter eventually moved 
to Iowa. 



6 Hugh Swinton Legari. 

mind of his lather that the old gentleman soon died 

grief. 

A woman of rare nobility of character, the mother of 
Hugh Swinton Legare consecrated her entire life to the 
care and training of her three children, all of whom reached 
maturity and reilected the highest credit on her devotion. 
One of the most striking elements in the character of Le- 
gare was his affection for his mother. Some of his greatest 
achievements, for example, appear to have gratified him 
largely because of the happiness he knew they would bring 
to her who had nurtured, guided, inspired him throughout 
his early vears, and who breathed her last in his arms at 
Washington when his fame was at its summit. Scarcely 
less tender was his devotion to his sisters, especially Mary, 
to whom many of his letters are written.' 

It was while Legare was in his fifth year that he met with 
a misfortune which not only threatened his life but deeply 
affected his whole subsequent career. Having been vacci- 
nated with apparently unhealthy virus, the poison settled in 
the joints of his arms and legs. Bad medical attention ag- 
gravated the trouble, and for months his life hung by a thread : 
but the careful nursing he received from his mother finally 
pulled him through, although Mrs. Legare for a long time 
was obliged to carry him about in her arms. Under these 
distressing circumstances he received his first instruction 
when his mother introduced him to the alphabet. Even 
after his recovery, however, it was not until his life in the 
country, several years afterwards, that he began to grow; 
but onlv the upper part of his body expanded, and as long 
as he lived his legs remained deformed, while one arm was 
always more or less stiff. This latter defect Legare. with 
characteristic determination and perseverance, finally oxer- 
came to such a degree that he could use both arms with 
ease when gesticulating; and in like manner he partially 
concealed the deformity of his legs by habitually wearing a 
frock-coat. But his physical infirmities always gave him a 

• "Writings of Hugh Swinton Lr.u.ir.-." Edited b\ his sister, Mrs. Mary 
Bullen. 2 vols. Charleston. 1846. 



Hugh Swinton Legate. 7 

rather peculiar appearance, and' we are told that there was a 
marked contrast between his size when seated with that 
which he presented when on his feet. His head, however, 
was well-proportioned, and even as a boy his manners were 
quiet, thoughtful, and well calculated to develop into that 
austerity which in later years marked the student, the re- 
served man of books. 

More attention has been devoted to these outward appear- 
ances of Legare than would otherwise have been done for 
several reasons. In the first place, this painful experience 
of his early years cut him off from many of those outdoor 
sports which make up the chief joys of a normally consti- 
tuted lad, and, added to the inspiration of his mother, caused 
him to turn to intellectual pursuits with an ambition that 
never afterwards forsook him. To the same bodily defects 
may be traced, moreover, a certain hesitating, shrinking, 
sensitive disposition which at times pained and disappointed 
even his closest friends. And here and there in his writ- 
ings, especially in his letters, one can detect a certain in- 
describable note of sadness, no doubt the outcome of a 
deep-seated morbidness. 

As has been already remarked, Legare received his first 
instruction from his mother, but he was soon sent succes- 
sively to several private schools, his first instructor being one 
Master Ward, President of Ward's Seminary. 1 " His next 
teacher was the famous Father Gallagher, a graduate of Dub- 
lin, and a man well grounded in the classics, whose school 
was limited to fifteen pupils. 11 He seems to have imparted 
to Legare that fondness for Latin which he ever afterwards 
displayed, and predicted for him a future of more than or- 
dinary success. After remaining at this school for several 
years, the lad entered the high school, now the College of 
Charleston, which was then under the guidance of Mitchell 
King, subsequently renowned as a local judge of rare prob- 
ity of character. The friendship thus formed between stu- 

10 In 1803 this school was next door to Ruddock's English School. Set 
advertisement in Charleston Courier, July 25, 1803. 

11 Charleston Courier, July 25, 1805. 



8 Hugh Swinton Legare. 

dent and preceptor continued long afterwards, and when 
Legare finally took up the study of the law it was under the 
guidance of his old high school instructor, Judge King. The 
three years spent at the high school were far from fruitless 
ones. They especially developed his fondness for litera- 
ture. 

It was now, however, that Mrs. Legare decided to send 
her son, much against his wishes, to Willington Academy, 
a well-known preparatory school for boys in Abbeville Dis- 
trict, not far from the Savannah River. Its principal was 
the Rev. Dr. Moses Waddell, 1 - a Presbyterian divine who 
at that time figured very prominently as an educator. Under 
him many leading Southerners were prepared for college, 
including such men as McDuffie, Harper, Calhoun, Peti- 
gru, and other distinguished South Carolinians. But Le- 
gare does not seem to have been favorably impressed with 
his new teacher, and besought his mother to allow him to 
return home. Her good sense, however, would not permit 
her to accede to his wishes, and teacher and pupil became 
reconciled to such a degree that when the young man left 
Willington for the South Carolina College, at the age of 
fourteen, he had overcome much of his dislike for Dr. 
Waddell. Indeed, he never failed to credit that old South 
Carolina Arnold with the knowledge and fondness for Greek 
which he acquired at Willington and subsequently perfected 
at Columbia. 

When Legare entered the Sophomore class at the South 
Carolina College, December n, 1S11, that institution, so 
famous in the history of the State, had already passed the 
tentative, experimental stage and become an assured success. 
Its organization, to be sure, had been discussed prior to the 
message Gov. Drayton addressed to the Legislature in 1801, 
but its organization and development may be ascribed in 
great measure to that document. On that occasion, more- 
over, Drayton employed Language which, unfortunately, may 
till be applied to more than one Southern State. "Were a 

" Dr. Waddell afterwards accepted the presidency of Oglethorpe Univer- 
sity, now the University of Georgia. 



J I ugh Swinton Lcgare. 9 

person to look over the laws of the State," declared the 
Governor, "he would find that five colleges are incorporated 
therein ; and did his inquiries proceed no further, he would 
naturally imagine that we had already arrived at an enviable 
excellence in literature." He then went on to show that 
two of these institutions had been discontinued through 
want of funds, and that the others were little above grammar 
schools, notwithstanding their power to confer degrees. His 
remedy was a simple one. It lay in the creation of a State- 
endowed institution at Columbia, or some other central and 
healthy point, where "the friendships of young men would 
thence be promoted and strengthened throughout the State, 
and our political union be much advanced thereby." 1; 

The above excerpt from Drayton's message refers to the 
antagonism then prevailing between the two sections of 
South Carolina, locally designated the "low country" and 
the " up country." In most of our States there is a marked 
contrast between the people who inhabit different parts of 
the same commonwealth. Differences in point of time of 
settlement, diversity of soil and climate, and racial contrasts 
among the settlers themselves, acting and reacting on the 
minds, occupations, and institutions of the people, tend to 
accentuate original points of divergence, thus widening in- 
stead of bridging the gulf between them. It would scarcely 
be an exaggeration to say that in the case of South Carolina 
the difference between the so-called ' ' up country ' ' and ' ' low 
country" was more pronounced than the sectional divisions 
of any other State, with the possible exception of Virginia. 
Notwithstanding better means of communication, this dis- 
tinction has not yet been entirely obliterated. By the Con- 
stitution of 1790 the center of political gravity was shifted 
from the coast to the interior. The seat of government had 
already been transferred to the new town of Columbia — a 
name that indicates the then current federal proclivities of 
the commonwealth. 

It was the cherished hope of Drayton and others that 



13 



LaBorde's "History of South Carolina College," pp. 19, 20. 



io Hugh Swinton Legari. 

a State-endowed college would inaugurate a better feel- 
ing between the two sections of population — a hope subse- 
quent events pushed far toward the desired goal: for after 
the act of incorporation, passed in 1S01, the organization of 
the institution went rapidly forward, and within a few years 
its doors were thrown open to students. In the selection of 
its first president the trustees, mainly State officials, acted 
with unusual sagacity, and induced Rev. Jonathan Maxcy, 
D.D., a native of Attleboro, Mass., to accept the post. En- 
joving at that time a national reputation, Dr. Maxcy, as 
president first of Brown, and subsequently of Union on the 
death of Jonathan Edwards, was just the man the work at 
Columbia needed. And from his election in 1S04 he not 
only directed the policy of the South Carolina College, but 
stamped upon its whole history the impress of his strong per- 
sonality." He gathered around him an able faculty, com- 
posed at first largely of trained scholars from northern col- 
leges, and planned a course of instruction which by later de- 
velopment made the institution to which he gave so many years 
of his life one of the best of its kind in the country. Hence, 
when Legare entered the college it had passed the experi- 
mental point, and was in the full tide of its success. 

On entering college, Legare soon discovered that his repu- 
tation as a youth of good parts had already preceded him, 
and he was careful to let it become known that he would 
compete for all the academic honors. Hence he lived the 
life of a recluse during the first part of his college career, 
but mingled more freely with the student body toward the 
end of his course. 1 His favorite studies, as well as various 
other facts connected with his student days, are faithfully 
described by Preston, his friend at college and the devoted 
comrade of succeeding years: 

He mainly devoted himself to the Department* of Classical Literature 
and Philosophy, and lie zealouslj engaged in the discus-ions of the debating 

"It is interesting to note, in this connection, the points of resemblance 
between the buildings of the South Carolina College and the older group of 
buildings at Brown. 

"South,,,, Review, N. S M Vol. VII., pp. 1-M-1.V 



Hugh Swintdn Legari. 1 1 

societies 1,; in order to practice himself in the art of speaking. These studies 
were a passion with him." His attention to the exact sciences, however, 
seemed to be stimulated rather by an ambition and a sense of duty than a 
particular inclination. His recitations in mathematics, chemistry, and nat- 
ural philosophy were always good— equal to the best in his class— but his 
heart was in the classics. 17 

In Legare's time the course of studies in the South Caro- 
lina College extended over a period of four years, and there 
was the time-honored division of students into freshmen, 
sophomores, juniors, and seniors. 1 " It should be added that 
a good entrance examination was also required. But his 
habit of reading took him into fields far more extensive than 
those afforded by his instructors, and he early found his 
way to the State library, which at that time contained ten 
thousand volumes. It is said that he knew Homer almost by 
heart, and could declaim passage after passage from Pindar, 
Demosthenes, Plato, Cicero, and other classical writers. 19 
Nor did he neglect modern literature, although he turned 
his attention mainly to English and French authors. We 
are also told that at college he devoted seven hours daily to 
class work and recitations, eight hours to his own favorite 
studies, and gave the rest of the day to meals and slumber. 20 

It was quite natural that every one should have looked upon 
Legare as a prodigy. Nor is it surprising to learn that when 
he graduated, December 5, 1814, at the head of a class of 
forty-five, his fame had spread throughout the State, and ex- 
pectations regarding his future were unusually high. We 
can get some opinion of his tastes from the subject of his 
valedictory address, which was "The Influence of the Imag- 
ination on Human Happiness." Among the members of 
his class were John Boykin, George Chisholm, Frederick 
G. Fraser, John Gaillard, David R. W. Mclver, Robert A. 
Maxwell, Philip Porcher, Henry Ravenel, Waddy Thomp- 

J « He was a member of the Clariosophic Society. (O'NealPs " Bench and 
Bar of South Carolina," Vol. II., p. 35.) 

"Eulogv on Legate". Ex-Senator W. C. Preston, afterwards President 
of the South Carolina College. Charleston, 1S43. 

is W.J. Rivers, in Charleston News and Courier, July 25, 1876. 

V» Southern Review, Vol. VII., p. 133. 

*>Ibid. 



12 Hugh Swinton Legate. 

son, and Henry Trescott, 21 some of whom afterwards rose to 
distinction. In spite of the bad weather," the newspaper ac- 
counts of the commencement exercises report a good crowd 
in attendance, including members of the Legislature and va- 
rious State officials. 2 " Legare's valedictory appears to have 
been a production of unusual merit. 

I remember hearing Judge Huger say [declares Gov. Perry] that when 
Legare graduated he went to the commencement out of respect to the col- 
lege and to see the ladies. Whilst chatting with some of them his ear was 
attracted by a sentence in Legare's valedictory. He became interested, and 
his attention was riveted on the oration till it was ended. He inquired who 
this young man was, and asked one of the professors who wrote his valedic- 
tory for him. The professor replied that Legare' had written it himself, and 
that he was the only man in the whole college who could have written it. 24 

Returning to Charleston after his graduation, Legare be- 
gan the study of the law under Judge King. During the 
three years he was thus preparing himself for his profession 
he kept up his studv of the classics, and at the same time en- 
deavored to cultivate his voice in a manner that would have 
been worthv of Demosthenes. Meanwhile, when the three 
years' novitiate in the law office was over, he was wise 
enough to be too much dissatisfied with his attainments to 
apply for admission to the bar, but determined to further 
prosecute his studies abroad. Accordingly, with this end in 
view, he sailed from Charleston to Bordeaux in May. 1818, 
on the Portia, Capt. Silliman, with the intention of entering 
the university at Gottingen ; but on his arrival in France, 
three months later, he changed his plans on account of the 
revolutionary movement in Germany, and determined to go 
to Edinburgh. During his brief sojourn in Paris his talents, 
as well as his mastery of the French language, won for him 
hosts of friends, whose number was still further increased 
when he entered the Scotch university. There he took up 
the study of Roman law under Irving, and found time to 

21 Henrv Trescott, second honor man, was -alutatorian. 
"Charleston Courier, January 6, 1S15. The commencements of the col- 
lege were long held in December. 

M The time mav have been so arranged in order to let the legislators attend. 
"Perry's " Reminiscences of Public Men," pp. 252, 253. 



Hugh Swinton Legare. 13 

enter the classes in natural philosophy and in mathematics, 
under Playfair and Murray, respectively. 2 '' It seems that the 
recitations in the class of the civil law — the basis of Scotch 
jurisprudence — were then conducted in Latin, a survival of 
a mediaeval custom, and that Irving was a man of ordinary 
talents. On one occasion, so we are informed, a discussion 
arose between Legare and his preceptor regarding the con- 
struction of a doubtful passage of the text, when the former so 
ably supported his own interpretation of it as to elicit the ap- 
proval of the entire class. Indeed, the lecturer felt called 
upon to send him next day a written argument on the sub- 
ject. 2r ' Meanwhile, the young Carolinian was enjoying to the 
utmost the atmosphere of a city which, in addition to its re- 
nowned university and other historic monuments, was be- 
coming perhaps even more famous through the pen of Scott. 
It was while here, moreover, that he met George Ticknor, 
afterwards to become a professor at Harvard, and a warm 
friendship arose between the two young men — a friendship 
that lasted until Legare's death at Ticknor's residence, in 
Boston, a quarter of a century afterwards. At this time the 
American character appears to have been considerably raised 
at Edinburgh by the coterie of young men from the United 
States who were studying there with Legare and Ticknor. 27 
But Legare infers from one or two unguarded expressions 
contained in letters from his mother that the plantation needs 
more careful attention, and soon makes up his mind to re- 
turn home. Accordingly we find him once more in Charles- 
ton, after an absence of two years abroad, his mind liberal- 
ized, cultivated, strengthened, by a continental tour as well 
as by the course at Edinburgh. 1 " 

On his return home, in 1820, Legare discovered that the 
ancestral plantation, on John's Island, had been so badly 

** Sketch of Legare, by E. W. Johnson, in the edition of Legare's writings 
published by his sister. 

««Ibid. 

n Letter of Mrs. Grant, Ticknor's " Life, Letters, and Journals," Vol. I., 
p. 278. 

28 "Journal of the Rhine," Legare's collected writings. 



14 Hugh Swinton Legate. 

managed that nothing save the most prudent measures could 
save his mother's affairs from irretrievable ruin, and the en- 
tire family was therefore at once removed to the country 
seat. Thus among the slaves, and in the beautiful semi- 
tropical environment of the South Carolina coast, he began 
earnestly the work of restoring the impaired estate, and 
found pleasure in the cultivated state of the island society. 
Eighty years ago such a life was one of the most beauti- 
ful to be found in America. The people inhabiting the 
islands that dotted the coast still looked fondly across the 
sea, commerce was active, and good crops, especially rice, 
and the long-fleeced sea-island cotton were produced. In 
groves of palmetto, live oak, and pine were the mansions of 
the planters, often constructed of brick, and owned for gen- 
erations by the same family ; while some distance off were 
the quarters of the negroes — small villages of log cabins or 
frame cottages, whose occupants were under the usually mild 
sway of their owners. It is scarcely remarkable to tind that 
these little communities were well-nigh autonomous and self- 
supporting; for the sea, as well as the streams of the main- 
land, abounded in fish, and it was not difficult to raise hogs, 
cattle, and other live stock in the canebrakes. Each family 
of blacks, moreover — for custom recognized such ties — had 
its own "patch" or plot of ground, whose produce was vir- 
tually its own, and could raise its own poultry as well as 
weave its own cloth — all of which were enjoyed by a sort of 
right resembling the peculium of the Roman slave. 

Mention has been made of these facts in order to throw 
light on the environment of Legare at this time. The love 
of this people for South Carolina — ever to them Carolina — 
amounted to a passion which was approached only by their 
love of that most historic of New World towns, Charleston. 
Under the liberal commercial policy that had prevailed be- 
fore the Napoleonic era and the second war with Great Brit- 
ain, the planters had been able to export their produce and 
bring hack in exchange such necessaries ami luxuries as they 
mijdit have desired, ami that. too. at a fairly reasonable 
price. Charleston had thus risen into prominence as a com- 



Hugh Swinton Legare. 15 

mercial and intellectual center, and those engaged in plant- 
ing had thriven well under such a system. The acquisition 
of Florida by the United States in 1819, moreover, checked 
border outrages and threw open to settlers a vast and rich 
stretch of country. The series of tariff measures that fol- 
lowed in the wake of the war of 1S12 not only changed the 
situation, but fostered a spirit of unrest, disappointment, and 
irritation. Agriculture and commerce met the rising tide of 
industrialism, and were engulfed. 

To a young man like Legare, whose studies and inclina- 
tions and environment were well calculated to draw him 
into public life even if his ambition had not already led 
him to dream of such a career, the opportunities for en- 
tering politics were accordingly highly favorable. His 
rare attainments, moreover, caused his neighbors early to 
sound him on the subject, and he had not been long on 
his plantation before he was elected to a seat in the lower 
house of the State Legislature. This occurred in the 
autumn of 1820, and for the next two years he represented 
St. John's Parish, Colleton. 29 As the sessions of the Legis- 
lature then lasted only a month, he had few occasions for 
displaying his powers. The task of legislating for an al- 
most purely agricultural State was, moreover, an exceedingly 
simple one. In spite of his youth, however, Legare applied 
himself diligently to the routine work intrusted to him, and 
whether in the committee room or on those rare occasions 
when he felt called upon to express his opinions he acquitted 
himself well. But it cannot be said that he made any decided 
impression on his fellow-legislators. The Legislature of 
1820 convened November 27, and Legare found that he was 
one of seventy-five new members. Little business was trans- 
acted beyond the election of Thomas Bennett as Governor 
and William C. Pinckney as Lieutenant Governor. The ef- 
forts in the direction of internal improvements were strong, 
however, and the national spirit seemed everywhere domi- 
nant. 

N The parish system obtained in the "low country," while the political 
unit of the "up country" was the "district." 



II. 

Legare, the Statesman. 

In about 1821 Legare removed to Charleston, and be- 
gan the practice of law. 3 " The bar of that city was then one 
of the most brilliant in the entire country, numbering among 
its members such men as Thomas S. Grimke, the able jurist 
and good though at times bizarre man of letters — a citizen, 
however, who was always interested in every movement cal- 
culated to improve his community, State, and country; James 
L. Petigru, Grimke's superior in point of intellect, at one 
time Attorney-General of the State, and a man who consider- 
ably influenced Legare; Alfred Huger; Mitchell King; the 
Pinckneys; the Haynes; William Drayton; and others more 
or less interested in law and politics. That Legare should 
have failed to secure many clients when he first began to 
practice his profession, and that his success at the bar was 
scarcely at any time commensurate with his juristic training, 
will surprise few who have observed the career of any young 
man of scholarship placed under similar circumstances and 
wholly lacking in that knowledge of men so essential to such 
a career. It may have been a recollection of this experience 
that caused him in after life to express the regret that we do 
not in this country recognize the twofold division of lawyers 
into barristers and solicitors, a division which certainly has 
much in it to attract the attention of jurists. Be that as it 
may, however, few who can appreciate Legare's attainments 
will be disposed to question Preston's remark that ''no man 
in our country had brought to the business of life, however 
elevated, a more thorough preparation." But he undoubted- 
ly suffered at first because of his reputation as a scholar, and 
his lack of progress at the Charleston bar during the first 
years of hi -> professional career may be traced to that fact 



n 



Hi- was admitted to the Charleston bar January 12, 1821. 



Hugh Swinton Legari. 17 

rather than to any petty jealousy on the part of his asso- 
ciates. 

It was thought that one so much interested in literature 
could not be profoundly acquainted with the intricacies of 
the law. Nor had Legare's physical infirmities and seden- 
tary life been calculated to enable him to adapt himself to his 
new surroundings. But it would be a mistake to fancy that 
he was either ignorant of the principles of jurisprudence or 
regarded it as a mere pastime, an appendage to literature. 
Throughout his career, first to be the best lawyer in Charles- 
ton and then of the entire country was his most cherished am- 
bition. That he succeeded is abundantly evident not only 
from his scattered writings and speeches, but also from Judge 
Story's remarks made shortly after Legare's death, when the 
whole country was mourning his loss. 

I who heard his arguments [said Story] know that he devoted him 
self to the common law with a wise perception of its defects, and a pu: 
pose to ameliorate them with the riches of the civil law; and I may say 
of him, having seen his mastery of both systems of jurisprudence, that 
he walked with them triumphantly, the one in one hand and the other 
in the other hand, in the path of a great jurist. . . . When, there- 
fore, the question is asked, "Was he eminent as a lawyer?" I answer, No 
man more. Do you ask what was the secret of his eminence? I an- 
swer: It was diligence, profound study, and withholding his mind from 
the political excitements of the day. 31 

Even in those early days at the Charleston bar he devoted 
himself assiduously to whatever cases were intrusted to him; 
but, as some one has observed, it is rather curious, to say the 
least of it, that his reputation as a jurist should have been 
gained after his appointment to the Attorney-Generalship of 
the State rather than before his elevation to that post. 

In 1822 Legare was again a candidate for the Legislature, 
but was defeated. Running again, however, in 1824, he was 
elected, and kept his seat for the next six years by an ever-in- 
creasing number of votes. The times were the most exciting 
South Carolina had experienced since the days of the revolu- 
tion. A firm believer in the doctrine of State Rights, he at 
first found himself on the side of the minority in the General 

151 Southern Quarterly Review, October, 1843, pp. 351, 352. 
2 



1 8 II noli Swinton Legate. 

Assembly. But the tariff acts of Congress were gradually 
transforming the politics of South Carolina and shattering 
the dominant party, which was locally known as the party of 
consolidation. One of its prime spirits, strange to relate, was 
John C. Calhoun. It was Judge William Smith who organ- 
ized the Crawford faction in South Carolina — the party of 
State Rights and strict construction — and in 1825 succeeded 
in inducing the Legislature to pass the following resolutions. 32 

Resolved: 1. That Congress does not possess the power, under the Con- 
stitution, to adopt a general system of internal improvements as a na- 
tional measure. 

2. That a right to impose and collect taxes does not authorize Con- 
gress to levy a tax for any other purpose than such as are necessarily 
embraced in the specific grants of power, and those necessarily im- 
plied therein. 33 

3. That Congress ought not to exercise a power granted for particular 
objects to effect other objects, the right to effect which has never been 
conceded. 

4. That it is an unconstitutional exercise of power on the part of Con- 
gress to tax the citizens of one State to make roads and canals for the 
citizens of another State. 

5. That it is an unconstitutional exercise of power on the part of Con- 
gress to levy duties to protect domestic manufactures. 34 

These resolutions passed the House by a vote of 73 to 38, 
and the Senate by a vote of 22 to 20. Legare voted for the 
resolutions, and found his party transformed from a minority 
into a majority. Public sentiment throughout the State 
was undergoing a change and the tariff measures were becom- 
ing more and more unpopular. 

The attitude of the Southern people under the lead of 
South Carolina at this posture of affairs can be easily under- 
stood, however much one may fail to approve of Calhoun's 
plan of a commonwealth referendum. Protesting vigorous- 
ly against the principles and tendencies of the tariff law, they 
pointed out, among other objections to it. that as the South 
depended absolutely upon commerce on the largest scale any 

"Houston's "Nullification in South Carolina," p. 56. 

"In 1824 the South Carolina Legislature was still National. The re- 
port of the Prioleau Committee denied the r\^\w of nullification, and cited 
the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. 

M Niles's "Register," Vol. XXIX.. p. 2 



Hugh Swinton Lcgare. 19 

restrictions on their intercourse with foreign countries would 
inevitably affect their welfare. It was argued, too, that their 
Staple productions, especially cotton, were among the com- 
paratively few where slave labor could compete with free; 
that great revolutions in trade sometimes arose from appar- 
ently slight causes; that however far it might be from the pur- 
poses of the North and the West, it was possible for the tariff 
laws to cause the South the loss of its foreign markets, its 
only resource, and that the result of that loss would be pov- 
erty, loss, desolation, and the weakening of the entire frame- 
work of society. 35 

When no signs of reducing the import duties were dis- 
cerned, but on the contrary a decided determination to in- 
crease the tax, several pamphleteers continued the agitation 
and advocated radical views. Of these writers > two of the 
most influential were Dr. Thomas Cooper, President of the 
South Carolina College, and Robert J. Turnbull, of Charles- 
ton. The latter wrote under the mm de plume "Brutus," and 
contributed more than any other one man to bring about 
that revolution in public sentiment which impelled the State 
toward nullification. 36 Starting out with the theory that 
during the preceding six or seven years Congress had made 
more rapid strides toward consolidation than in the thirty 
previous years, he maintained that the plantation States 
were being unjustly taxed and made colonies in the interest 
of the North and West. "Brutus" urged that the South 
should oppose unwarranted powers, keep the slavery question 
out of Congress, and withdraw from the Union if necessary. 
The tariff act of 1828 completed the work. In town and par- 
ish meetings resolutions were adopted protesting against the 
measure, and on December 19, 1828, the Legislature passed 
strong remonstrances on the subject. It was in the same 
year that Calhoun turned to a study of the Constitution and 
issued his "Exposition," in which he formulated the doctrine 
of State interposition or nullification. During this civil 

^ Legare's speech on the tariff. Twenty-Fifth Congress . 
""The Crisis; or, Essays on the Usurpations of the Federal Govern- 
ment." By Brutus. Charleston. 1827. 



20 Hugh Swinton Legare. 

commotion Legare was with the majority in so far as opposi- 
tion to the tariff was concerned, but in no manner was in 
favor of a commonwealth veto. 37 He lacked boldness, how- 
ever, and had to be urged on by his party. 

During the next four years the battle was a fierce one be- 
tween the State Rights and Union party on the one side and 
the State Rights and Free Trade party on the other — or, 
more clearly, the Union and Nullification parties. Among 
the influential leaders of the former were Legare, Huger, 
Petigru, Drayton, O'Neall, Poinsett, Manning, and Rich- 
ardson, while the Nullifiers were represented by such 
men as Turnbull, Harper, Rhett, Cheves, Simkins, Hamilton, 
and Butler. For several years the Union men were able to 
ward off the extreme views of the nullifiers, but the latter 
grew eventually strong enough to carry the State — largely 
through Georgia's attitude in regard to the Cherokees and 
Jackson's apparent acquiescence therein — call a convention, 
and take the steps that had been so long averted. It is only 
in recent years that the existence of a strong Union party in 
South Carolina at that time has been brought out. Even at 
the elections of 1832 it was able to poll 16,000 votes out of a 
total of 39,000. The position of Legare and his coworkers 
at this period in the history of the State was a delicate one. 
Opposed to the tariff act of [828 — the so-called "Bill of 
Abominations" — they were no less opposed to the nullifica- 
tion theories of Calhoun and his followers. The common 
view of historians is that the nullifiers were brought to terms 
by pressure from Washington, but there is every reason for 
believing that it was the firm attitude of the Union men in 
the State thai warded off the worst and brought about the 
changed attitude on the part of Gov. Ilayne and his follow- 
ers. This, moreover, seems to have been the real policy of 
President Jackson. 88 Legare from the outset had set his 

"Southern Quarterly, October. 1843, pp. 352-354. 

M "My great desire is that the Union men may put Nullification and 
secession down in South Carolina themselves, and save the character of 
the State and add thereby to the stability of the Union." — Jackson to 
Poinsett, January, 1833, Stillfs "Poinsett," f. &>• 



Hugh Swinton Lcgard. 21 

face steadily against nullification. That he still retained the 
confidence of his constituents, however, is amply shown not 
only by his reelection to the Legislature in 1830 by a vote 
greater than that received by any other candidate, but also 
by his election in December of that year to the post of At- 
torney-General of the State. 

Glad to escape scenes that were uncongenial to his tastes, 
Legare found in his new position ample opportunities for de- 
veloping his rare powers. It was while serving in this capac- 
ity that business took him to Washington to argue a case 
before the Supreme Court. 31 ' Here his talents attracted the 
attention of Edward Livingston, Jackson's Secretary of State, 
through whose influence the young Carolinian was appointed 
minister to Belgium. In his "Diary of Brussels" we have a 
faithful picture of the four years spent in that capital, 40 where 
he not only became a social favorite, but applied himself dili- 
gently to the study of Roman law. No less interesting are 
the letters he then exchanged with friends in Charleston, 
which throw a flood of light on the questions that were then 
agitating the public mind of America. Of these the follow- 
ing may not prove uninteresting: 

[Petigru to Legare.] 

Charleston, October 29, 1832. 
My Dear Legare: Since you left us, things have turned out as fools 
wished and wise men expected. The city election, with all our pains, 
was lost. Pinckney 41 beat DeSaussure 160 votes. On the 8th and 9th we 
were defeated again. The whole Nullification ticket succeeded by an 
average majority of 130. The Governor's proclamation, like one of 
Napoleon's bulletins, was ready in anticipation of the victory, and was 
read in all the districts the day after the election, convening the Legisla- 
ture on the 22d. You know it was always a doubt as to which was the 
Legislature between October and November; but, as Clayton says, "he 
that doubts is damned" nowadays. The convention bill was dispatched 
as soon as it could be read, and the Legislature adjourned on Friday; 
and the convention [Nullification] is to be elected and convened between 
this and the third Monday of November. Thus you see that we are on 
the gallop, and how long our demagogues will keep the saddle no one 



"He was admitted to the Supreme Court January 15. 1829. — Records of 
tliat court. 

1832- 1836. 

Henry L. Pinckney, editor Charleston Mercury. 



40 
41 



22 Hugh Swinton Legare. 

knows. The spread of Jacobinical opinions has been terrible. We have 
only twenty-six members in the House, and fourteen in the Senate. The 
Union vote throughout the Mate is about 10,000 and the Nullification 
23.000. Our country friends were terribly taken in. . . . Now the 
question comes whether our Constitution is anything better than the 
otlur ware of that kind which has been hawked about since 1789. What 
a pity that Lafayette was not able to add State rights to the other Re- 
publican institutions to which he was for making Louis Philippe a con- 
vert! The Union party here have determined not to support any ticket 
for the convention. Our friends in the Legislature who come from dis- 
tricts where they have the upper hand think differently. We mean to re- 
serve ourselves for the ebb tide. How long we shall wait is a very serious 
question. If we had anybody at the head of affairs that could be de- 
pended on, it would be a fair chance yet. But the old man** seems to be 
more than half a Nullifier himself, and we are compelled to rely for the 
best of our hopes on the doubtful allegiance of Georgia. *s . . . 

The drift of events, from another Union point of view, are 

here described. 

[Charles Fraser to Legare.] 

Charleston, January 30. [833. 
The present period is, in my opinion, one of more decided gloom 
than any that has yet occurred since the commencement of the war of 
parties. . . . The ordinance at once proclaims the violent and revo- 
lutionary character of nullification, and dissipates all idea of the peaceful- 
ncss and constitutionality of the remedy. The Legislature, in carrying 
out the plans of the ordinance, did not go to the full extent contemplated 
by its advocates. There were some limitations on the test oath, or rather 
the time and occasion of administering it. Volunteering was substituted 
for the plan of subscription, which proposed to make liable to service 
in the Nullification ranks all between sixteen and sixty. Treason to the 
State was left undefined, although recommended by Gov. H[amilton], 
and the McC. bill to make opposition in arms to the State by a citizen 
punishable with death was not passed. But enough was done to show a 
bitter and vindictive spirit toward the Union party. In the replevin act 
the capias in withernam was evidently leveled at the collector, whose 
property they wish to make individually liable by way of mulct for ad- 
hering to the enemy. The test oath was designed to take from the 
Union men all their commissions, civil and military, so as to secure to 
the party the whole official influence of the State." 

I [ear als< > I .egare himself: 

[Legare to his sister.] 

Brussels, January 6, 1833. 

The bad news from South Carolina has so damped and distracted me 



a President Jackson's attitude toward Georgia encouraged the Nulli- 
ficrs in the belief that he sympathized with them. 
"MS. letter of J. L. Petigru to Legare. 
" MS. letter. 



Hugh Sioinion Legari. 23 



"S 



that I take hardly any interest in what is going on here. . . You 

can form no idea how delighted everybody is on this side of the Atlan- 
tic at the prospect of our downfall. All the personal attentions paid to 
me cannot soothe the wounded spirit I bear about me as an American 
citizen, and. little as I have participated in that exaggerated self-conceit 
which makes us regard ourselves as the wisest, highest of mankind in 
matters of government, I cannot bear to think of the demolition of our 
system. It is our only chance for peace and happiness, and I see noth- 
ing in the experience in any part of the world to diminish my horror of 
revolutions. We have just got the President's message, which has 
consoled me and rather cast down the monarchists, as I hear.* 5 

.Vote- especially the following letter from Petigru to Le- 
gare, dated at Washington, July 15. 1833: 

You are surprised to see the date of this letter, or ought to be, for 
when one has lived the better part of his life at home nobody expects 
him to ramble abroad. But I have been very sick; . . . was kept 
within doors for a fortnight. During that time poor Brutus died, and 
the benevolent public was rather disappointed that there was one funeral 
only, for it was such an opening for a coincidence that they could hardly 
reconcile themselves to the prosaic matter of fact when I got well. 
... I came here the 12th, and go off this morning. Yesterday I 
waited on the President, was introduced by Mr. St. Clair Clarke. The 
old gentleman looked better than I expected, gave me a very gracious 
reception, inquired about Poinsett and Drayton, and regretted I was 
going to stay so short a time. I presume you know that Col. Drayton 
is going to expatriate himself. He leaves Charleston in this month for 
good, as we say. and will settle in Philadelphia. ... In South Caro- 
lina nothing seems to be hoped for from reason. But Georgia and Vir- 
ginia are the important points to be guarded now. It is clear that our 
Nullifiers mean to pick a quarrel with the North about the negroes. It 
will take some time, and many things will turn up in the meanwhile that 
wc can't foresee either to favor or destroy their hopes. But nullification 
has done its work. It has prepared the minds of men for a separation of 
the States, and when the question is mooted again it will be distinctly 
Union or Disunion. 4 * 

On his return to the United States, in 1836, Legare was 
elected to Congress as a Union Democrat, his competitor 
being Henry L. Pinckney, Nullifier. Both Houses at that 
time contained a more than usually large number of distin- 
guished men. In the Senate sat Webster, Calhoun. Clay. 
Rives, Wright, and others, while the House could boast of 
one ex-President. John Ouincy Adams: three men destined to 

4: 'MS. letter. MS. letter. 

Note. — In reading these letters one ought to bear in mind that they are 
ex parte and were written during very exciting times. 



2 4 Hugh Swinton Legare. 

occupy the White House, Polk, Fillmore, and Pierce; with 
numerous other celebrities. 47 A bachelor like Legare — in 
spite of several romances, he never married — found little 
difficulty in joining one of the various dining clubs 48 
where members then took their meals, and which formed an 
influential factor in the politics of the day. 48 

Early identifying himself with the group of Democrats in- 
cluding Rives, Talmadge, Clark, and Smith, of Marxian. 1. 
who were opposed to Van Buren's financial policy, Legare 
became one of the founders of the conservative party, whose 
members were to be found in all the States. Like many of 
his colleagues, he voted with the Whigs and was a veritable 
"mugwump." He was placed on the committees of com- 
merce and of foreign affairs, and took an active part in the 
debates that ensued over the questions of the hour. In the 
problems that arose on the outbreak of the war between Tex- 
as and Mexico he displayed unusual knowledge of interna 
tional relations in his remarks on neutrality, and was no less 
happy in his speech advocating a Southern naval station at 
Charleston. But his views on finance were not those of the 
majority in South Carolina. Legare advocated the banking 
as opposed to the currency principle. All the newspapers of 
Charleston, however, supported the subtreasury plan of V 
Buren, while the Legislature of South Carolina. May 31, 1839, 
passed resolutions declaring their approval of the subtre; 
ury as essential to the welfare of the country. '" It was added 
that any representative voting against it "pursues a cour se 
unjust to the interests of the State."' 1 Editor Cardoza, of 
the Southern Patriot, one of the Charleston newspapers, had 
• bjected to the views held by such men as Legare. where- 



" "In my long service I have tioi seen an abler Congress." — Benti 
"Thirty Years," Vol. II., p. 29. 

"Sargeant's "Public Men and Events," Vol. It., pp. 86, 

"Legare" boarded al Mrs. Ulrick's, Fifteenth and G Street-. With him 
■ ided Rives, Talmadge, and Mason, all conservatives. — Congressional 
Directory, 1837 iS;<j. 

"Nilcs's "Register," Vol. 54, p. 339- 

"Ibid. 



Hugh Swinton JLegari. 25 

upon the latter, in a communication to a constituent, sets 
forth his own financial views, wherein he exhibits a wonderful 
knowledge of the subject." "Of two currencies, the less 
valuable," he declares, "will displace the other. The lean kine 
will, as D'Agnesseau expresses it, everywhere swallow up the 
fat." 53 In view of the opposition his course had aroused, it is 
not surprising to find that he was defeated at the elections of 
1838 by Isaac L. Holmes. He then resumed with some suc- 
cess the practice of law at Charleston. 
I It was quite natural that Legare should have supported 
Harrison in the campaign of 1840, and the speeches he made 
in behalf of the Whig candidate at Richmond and New York 
attracted wide attention. Nor is it surprising to find that on 
the President's death, April 4, 1841, and Tyler's accession to 
the presidency, Legare was appointed Attorney-General. 
This occurred shortly after Tyler's Cabinet had resigned, with 
the exception of Webster, because of the President's attitude 
on the bank bill. There are strong reasons for believing that 
Tyler was endeavoring to construct a new party out of the 
conservatives. 64 The two great parties of the day were, of 
course, the Whigs and the Democrats; but the new Presi- 
dent was careful to put only Whigs and conservatives into 
office, while the extra session of Congress, which convened 
May 31, 1841, reflected popular wishes in regard to financial 
measures. Nor should it be forgotten that various political 
groups throughout the country acted with the Whigs and 
contributed largely to their success at the polls. Among 
these were the anti-Masons; the State Rights men of the 
South, who disapproved of Jackson's removal of deposits; 
supporters of Jackson in Tennessee, Georgia, and other 
States, who opposed Van Buren; and many dissatisfied fac- 
tions which had been called into existence by Jackson's finan- 
cial vagaries. 56 The new President, like many other former 



S3 



Legare's "Letter to a Constituent," Niles's "Register," Vol. 53, 
pp. 229-270. The letter was afterwards published in the Charleston Courier. 
" See Gresham's Law. 
Tyler's "Letters and Times of the Tylers." 
Williams's "Statesman Manual," Vol. III., pp. 1,396, 1.397- 



■ 1 



26 Hugh Swinton Legari. 

Democrats, was especially opposed to that feature of Van 
Buren's policy that looked to an exclusive specie currency. 66 
Legare's appointment as Attorney-General was according- 
ly in line with the President's policy. It has been said, more- 
over, that he had not his equal for the position in the United 
States. His greatest work in this relation was the opinion 
he rendered on the power of the Secretary of the Treasury, un- 
der direction of the President, to assess duties under the act 
of 1833. the compromise tariff act having expired by limita- 
tion in the meantime. Legare gave an affirmative answer, 68 
a position generally assailed, even by such a man as Adams. 
Later historians, however, justify him in the matter. VJ While 
Attorney-General, Legare furnished as many as one hun- 
dred and fifty written opinions, occupying in all upward of 
two hundred and sixty pages. 60 These cover an almost end- 
less variety of topics, including such subjects as the removal 
of the Indians, interpretation of official duties, the construc- 
tion of treaties, and the enforcement of the postal regula- 
tions. In one of these opinions he gives one of the best defini- 
tions of a newspaper ever rendered. Mr. Webster, moreover, 
called him into consultation during the negotiations regard- 
ing the Ashburton Treaty, and one or two important provi- 
sions in that convention appear to owe their origin to his 
knowledge of diplomacy. While Attorney-General he argued 
before the Supreme Court at least seven cases. 61 The Miranda 
and Acosta cases involved a determination of the rights of 
those having Spanish grants to lands in Florida, whilst Jewell 
vs. Jewell— said to have been one of his finest efforts — was a 
matrimonial ease in which he displayed a mo-t 1 in 'found 
knowledge of family law. Meanwhile, on Webster's resigna- 



Kinley's "Independent Treasury System," pp. 25, 27. 
Wise's "Seven Decades of the Union," p. 201. 
"Opinions of the Attorney-General,' 1 Vol. [V., pp. 56, 57 
Von Hoist, "Constitutional History," Vol. II.. pp. -M4. -45- 
'Opinions of the Attorney-General," Vols. III.. IV. 
" YV.'itkins V. Lessee <>f Oliver Holmes. 16 Peters. 17.4; Kelsey v. 

Hobby (private case), 16 Peters, 290; U S. v. Miranda. 16 Peters, 224; U. 

S. v. Acosta, 16 Peters. 483; U. S. v. Breward, i" Peters. 217; Ward v. 

U. S.. 16 Peters, 336; Jewell v. Jewell, 16 Peters, 57 s 



■•; 



•v 

40 ill 



Hugh Swinton Legare. 27 

tion from the Cabinet, Legarc was asked to act as Secretary 
of State ad interim, a work he performed in addition to that 
which already devolved on him. 

It was while serving in this capacity that he went to Bos- 
ton, in June, 1843, to J oni tne President and the rest of the 
Cabinet officers in the unveiling of the Bunker Hill monu- 
ment. On the day of his arrival there, however, he was 
seized with a severe attack of illness; and, notwithstanding 
the best medical attention, expired on the 20th at the resi- 
dence of Prof. Ticknor, in Park Street, almost opposite the 
present Shaw monument. Thus passed away, in the forty- 
seventh year of his age, a man whose talents and application 
warrant the belief that the future had even greater things in 
store for him, and the universal outburst of sorrow that fol- 
lowed his death shows that, in spite of the unpopularity of the 
administration, there was at least one member of it whom the 
public not only honored and trusted, but even loved. 

We have reserved until last some mention of Legare as an 
author. His literary activity was mainly in connection with 
the Southern Review, which he and Stephen Elliott founded 
in 1827. On the death of Crafts 6 ' 2 Legare took his place in 
Charleston, but, in spite of his scholarly attainments, it can 
scarcely be said that he possessed the originality and genius 
or that Southern writer. The first number of the Review ap- 
peared in February, 1828. Modeled after the English peri- 
odicals and designed to combat the centralizing tendencies 
on the part of the general government, the journal went 
through eight volumes, and expired when Legare ceased 
writing for it. 

In the numerous articles he contributed to the newspapers 
and periodicals of his day Legare shows rare talent as well as 
unusual power of research, while his knowledge of history and 
political economy is everywhere apparent. Of his essays, the 
best are probably those on "The Democracy of Athens," "De- 
mosthenes," and "Roman Legislation." In the last he shows 
a mastery of the civil law. and. with the exception of Edward 

62 Trent's "Life of Simms," p. 511. Prof. Trent shows with great force 
the influence of slavery on politics and literature. 



28 - Hitgh Swinton Leg are. 

Livingston, probably knew more about the subject than any 
of his contemporaries. And while he has left no volume be- 
hind him, he seems to have been engaged in translating Hein- 
eccius into English at the time of his death. On the whole, 
therefore, one cannot escape the conviction that, had Legare 
devoted himself exclusively to literature, he would have con- 
tributed something of value to the world of letters. Even as it 
was, however, he held before the vision of his contemporaries 
the ideals of a pure, high-minded statesman, a united country 
governed by a free and educated people. His views on 
finance, the civil service, the tariff, and the delicate ques- 
tions arising in the field of diplomacy were such as to render 
them still valuable both to the student and the man of af- 
fairs. A graceful, finished speaker — an art he cultivated with 
extraordinary perseverance — he scarcely had his superior as 
an orator among the men of his day, unless one has Edward 
Everett in mind. Legare always knew what he wanted to 
say, and said it earnestly, eloquently, but without affectation 
or bombast. His temperament, however, and the circum- 
stances of his life were not calculated to make him a great 
leader in politics. Conservative, timid, shrinking at times. 
even his followers occasionally had to push him forward, and 
then only to find him looking wistfully back to the position 
he had so reluctantly quitted. Hence, in spite of his culture. 
his sense of honor, his versatility and charm of manner, his 
unwearying diligence, Legare was not adapted either by na- 
ture or education to head a movement or buffet the storms 
of an active life. He lost his opportunity. 

In his warm, cultured, gracious personality, as well as in 
his ardent devotion to the Union, he represented the South 
Carolina of the past, which was then being rapidly altered 
first by means of a burdensome tariff system and later on 
through the more fanatical aspects of the abolition move- 
ment. His opinions respecting slavery were those of the 
average man of his times, whether North or South. Rut slav- 
ery and the tariff were incompatible, and here we have an ex- 
planation of much that occurred subsequently on both sides 
of the Potomac. Had Legare lived, therefore, at some other 



Hugh Sivinton Legart. 29 

time and under different circumstances, he might have gained 
even wider recognition; but the growth of the abolition 
movement crystallized his natural tendencies and drove him, 
as it did nearly every other Southern leader, in a direction 
little calculated to promote the growth of what was best in 
him. This we can understand. We can even go farther and 
wonder that the cause of human freedom was not commenced 
and carried to its final triumph with less of that violent de- 
nunciation and recrimination on both sides, which could 
scarcely fail to bring about sectional animosity and a ruinous 
war. Great Britain, for example, in dealing with the subject 
in her colonies, proceeded along lines that were no less just 
to the owners than to the slaves themselves, and thus avoided 
a bloody expiation for a policy the government itself had in- 
stituted. It did more. A course so humane and just en- 
abled the English government to retain the affection of its 
West Indian subjects and ward off the worst features of a 
race problem. But in America events were to take another 
turn. The difficulties of the situation were heightened, 
moreover, by the prevalent notions concerning State sover- 
eignty, to say nothing of the divergent interests of the two 
sections. No one appears to have grasped the significance 
of this aspect of the situation more thoroughly than Legare, 
and no one was more helpless 



• 5 I 






la '12 



